Monday, July 5, 2010

Markets: Porta Portese

Last weekend was my last visit to Porta Portese for a long while - sadly, I will be leaving Rome soon. Sniff. But luckily for me, my good friend Renee was in town and she was up for some serious marketing. So off we went early Sunday morning!

As we entered the market I spotted these really great terracotta jugs. Made me wonder what they could be used for? They sure would look great on top of cabinets in a country kitchen...or bunched together in the corner on an old hardwood floor? Or maybe out in the garden filled with plants?

Within minutes I found an amazing set of water glasses - there were probably 20 there and they looked great! I could envision them all cleaned up and sparkly on my farm table in Seattle, no problem. And I actually need a set of glasses like this ... but alas. How to get them home?? Had to pass. I Cry.

It was Renee who had the first hit with this cool old hubcap. She already has one from Milan so this Roma one would fit perfectly in her collection. On the first round of haggling the vendor would not meet our price, so we walked. But on a return pass later, he acquiesced and Renee got her prize!

And what about this amazing leather box from an artisan shop in Florence? 5 euro?? SOLD!

My problem is that I like big things - like this amazing old pasta plate with the rooster. Huge and heavy and beautiful!! I actually thought about it for a while, momentarily slipped into a dreamy vision of how good it would look in my house while the Neapolitan vendor tried to tempt me with a price that would close the deal ... but decided there was just no way. (Lauren would be so happy.) Maybe someday when I live in Rome ...

But I did score on a pile of these beauties - take a look:

Remember when I first spotted them a few weeks ago? This time the guy had a whole box full of rusty metal medallions and lamp fittings of varying shapes and sizes. they looked so great together ... still not sure how they will be reused/refunctioned/reinvented at Chez Schultz ... but I will let you know as soon as I figure it out!

So, Porta P., we had a good run this summer! I will be looking forward to a return visit next winter. In the meantime this girl will be on the hunt for cool markets in other parts of the globe so stay tuned!